# Cigars are dried out in my tupperdor



## PuffnDraw (Nov 12, 2018)

Back in Nov, I made a tupperdor with the items below and prepped it. Once it was at 70F and 70% RH, I put my cigars in it. Well I went to get a cigar today after not having opened this one for a few months and all my cigars are dried out. The Hygrometer reads 70F at 69% RH and has been between 65-70F and 66-70% RH all this time. How did they dry out? What should I do to bring them back? I just re-moistened the cedar trays using a damp cloth with DI water on it and I'm leaving it sit with the cigars in it. Is this the correct way to bring them back? Cigars are still in the wrappers.

Cigar Oasis Caliber IV Digital Hygrometer by Western Humidor
Sistema 1870 Klip It Collection Rectangle Food Storage Container, 236 Ounce
2 of Spanish Cedar Cigar Tray
2 of the Boveda 69% Rh 2-Way Humidity Control, Large 60 g packs


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## Razorhog (Jun 1, 2007)

That's a mystery. If the RH has always been 66-70%, they aren't dried out. What makes you think they are dried out?


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## PuffnDraw (Nov 12, 2018)

Razorhog said:


> That's a mystery. If the RH has always been 66-70%, they aren't dried out. What makes you think they are dried out?


Because when I squeeze them they are hard and I can hear the wrappers cracking. Went to smoke one and it was pretty bad.


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## Sine_Qua_Non (Oct 20, 2018)

PuffnDraw said:


> Back in Nov, I made a tupperdor with the items below and prepped it. Once it was at 70F and 70% RH, I put my cigars in it. Well I went to get a cigar today after not having opened this one for a few months and all my cigars are dried out. The Hygrometer reads 70F at 69% RH and has been between 65-70F and 66-70% RH all this time. How did they dry out? What should I do to bring them back? I just re-moistened the cedar trays using a damp cloth with DI water on it and I'm leaving it sit with the cigars in it. Is this the correct way to bring them back? Cigars are still in the wrappers.
> 
> Cigar Oasis Caliber IV Digital Hygrometer by Western Humidor
> 
> ...


What makes you say the sticks are dried out? I'm assuming you smoked one and had some problems with it.

Boveda and sealed Tupperware is essentially fool-proof, and if your hygros is accurate then the sticks should be just fine, and certainly not dry at 69% The only thing I could possibly imagine being a problem is if the cedar trays weren't adequately seasoned before you put your sticks in, they could have potentially robbed some humidity, but if you've had the tupper sealed up for months, even that would have evened out by now.

Sent from the Dark Side of the Moon


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## PuffnDraw (Nov 12, 2018)

I have no idea how it went bad. They definitely tasted stale compared to how they were when I first got them. There's no mold on them.


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## Sine_Qua_Non (Oct 20, 2018)

PuffnDraw said:


> Because when I squeeze them they are hard and I can hear the wrappers cracking. Went to smoke one and it was pretty bad.


Well, most of here would likely say cigars at smokeable RH should be on the more firm side; if a stick is squishy then it's most likely wayyy too humid. Wrappers actually cracking are a problem, though. Hard to quantify exactly what pretty bad means as far as smoking is concerned, but if it's a cigar you smoke often and are familiar with, and it's smoking very differently than normal, that's a problem.

Were the Boveda packs still plump, or were they dried out and granular?

Sent from the Dark Side of the Moon


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## PuffnDraw (Nov 12, 2018)

Sine_Qua_Non said:


> Well, most of here would likely say cigars at smokeable RH should be on the more firm side; if a stick is squishy then it's most likely wayyy too humid. Wrappers actually cracking are a problem, though. Hard to quantify exactly what pretty bad means as far as smoking is concerned, but if it's a cigar you smoke often and are familiar with, and it's smoking very differently than normal, that's a problem.
> 
> Were the Boveda packs still plump, or were they dried out and granular?
> 
> Sent from the Dark Side of the Moon


Both Boveda packs are still plump and good.


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## Sine_Qua_Non (Oct 20, 2018)

PuffnDraw said:


> Both Boveda packs are still pump and good.


That tells me they haven't had to do much work, which would indicate a solid seal on the Tupperware. I can't imagine that the sticks would have been able to dry out with those facts in mind.

If you haven't smoked in months, is it possible that it's just the shock of having a cigar again after that period of time affecting your perception?

Sent from the Dark Side of the Moon


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## Humphrey's Ghost (Dec 27, 2016)

I don't mean to be dismissive, but what you're describing isn't possible. Maybe take some close up pictures, including the feet. The laws of physics don't apply capriciously.


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## PuffnDraw (Nov 12, 2018)

Well the one I smoked was a Cumacho and when I squeezed it I could hear cracking. I used a punch and tasted kind of stale and I had to really take a good draw on it in-order to get the smoke out. Just seemed more difficult to smoke that usual. I smoked a RP Old world reserve last night at the cigar bar using a punch and it was perfect. I just took an Olivia Serie V out of the wrapper from the tupperdor and it's not making any cracking noises so maybe the Cumacho I smoked was just DOA and too dried out to begin with to bring back. I'm going to leave the other Cumachos in there for a few days and give them another try before I toss them. Only 5 of them left.


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## Sine_Qua_Non (Oct 20, 2018)

PuffnDraw said:


> Well the one I smoked was a Cumacho and when I squeezed it I could hear cracking. I used a punch and tasted kind of stale and I had to really take a good draw on it in-order to get the smoke out. Just seemed more difficult to smoke that usual. I smoked a RP Old world reserve last night at the cigar bar using a punch and it was perfect. I just took an Olivia Serie V out of the wrapper from the tupperdor and it's not making any cracking noises so maybe the Cuamcho I smoked was just DOA and too dried out to begin with to bring back.


A dried out cigar will burn and draw easier, not harder. Overly moist sticks have a tougher draw due to the tobacco swelling, and don't combust as efficiently. Conversely, a dry cigar will burn much faster, and hotter, and with an overly easy draw.

Sounds to me like your sticks are probably fine.

Sent from the Dark Side of the Moon


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## Razorhog (Jun 1, 2007)

PuffnDraw said:


> Well the one I smoked was a Cumacho and when I squeezed it I could hear cracking. I used a punch and tasted kind of stale and I had to really take a good draw on it in-order to get the smoke out. Just seemed more difficult to smoke that usual. I smoked a RP Old world reserve last night at the cigar bar using a punch and it was perfect. I just took an Olivia Serie V out of the wrapper from the tupperdor and it's not making any cracking noises so maybe the Cumacho I smoked was just DOA and too dried out to begin with to bring back. I'm going to leave the other Cumachos in there for a few days and give them another try before I toss them. Only 5 of them left.


Sounds like the Camacho was just partially plugged. Don't squeeze the Charmin, err cigars until you hear a cracking noise. Just a very gentle squeeze should suffice to test for soft spots and denseness of the roll. Some cigars are just more fragile than others. 
Have confidence in your hygrometer and tupperdor - both the Caliber IV and the Sistema are well respected.


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## Razorhog (Jun 1, 2007)

Oh and you might consider getting 65% beads or Bovedas for your next tupperdor and compare the same cigar at both RH levels. Nothing wrong with 70% but most here consider it to be too high. I like mid 60's.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

+1 to everything @*Sine_Qua_Non* and @*Razorhog* have said.

Most wrappers are delicate in the best of circumstances, and unless they're sopping wet like they tend to be when they arrive from many vendors at overly high RH, they will crack if you insist on squeezing the fool out of them. Sure, some wrappers are thicker and less delicate, but those also tend to be the fireproof ones that cause frustration of another sort.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

PuffnDraw said:


> Well the one I smoked was a Cumacho and when I squeezed it I could hear cracking. I used a punch and tasted kind of stale and I had to really take a good draw on it in-order to get the smoke out. Just seemed more difficult to smoke that usual. I smoked a RP Old world reserve last night at the cigar bar using a punch and it was perfect. I just took an Olivia Serie V out of the wrapper from the tupperdor and it's not making any cracking noises so maybe the Cumacho I smoked was just DOA and too dried out to begin with to bring back. I'm going to leave the other Cumachos in there for a few days and give them another try before I toss them. Only 5 of them left.


A few days just isn't really going to change things all that much....the fellas are being kind when they are really sending you accurate info....Tupperwares are pretty much idiot-proof when it comes to storage and it's the hobbyist that tends to push things. Comparing brands for the squeeze test is like comparing G/F's.....they are different in a lot of senses. Patience is something you're just gonna have to develop and not all B&M's store their cigars alike.....comparing oranges and apples. Some brands are just gonna give you a headache sometimes and not live up to our expectations which is why we preach patience.....quality media....storage for more than a few weeks....not days. A few days isn't going to change the chemistry of tobacco and RH....and esp. when you are trying to have the entire length of the cigar to acclimate to your desired relative humidity....as the first third or second third might be fine but that last third might be off by 5%. Most of us will allow a few months of rest to get the entire length of the cigar to adapt to a complete RH.

Seeing as how you put them into your Tupper back in Nov. and then you got all anxious you went back and seasoned the trays and changed the chemistry once again thinking that they were too dry and that is what newbs do...they get all overly anxious and chase numbers and season again and put in new media and then use an oasis.

1. Tuppers work....ensure proper calibrated equipment and media.
2. Fill the tupper 3/4 full......anything less like 1/2 is going to make your environment change and struggle and can change numbers.
3. Set yourself up to succeed and not change the inside environment because you think/feel that what is going on is inaccurate because you squeezed the cigar and heard a crackle....HAVE FAITH ....plan the work and work the plan and quit stressing because you think every cigar brand is supposed to smoke alike...they don't. Wrappers/filler/binder influence smoke ability as well...you don't have to throw the Comachos away...put em in a small tupper and let em acclimate a bit longer....and it they don't respond then yeah....you might have gotten an order of shyte...it happens. I've had $20 cigars that smoked like paper towels and thought that whoever stored them did so in a crappy environment and while I let them rest....they were already ruined because cigars do not come with a history of storage and could have been in the corner of some warehouse with a heater blowing warm/hot air and they they sent them out to the Consumer.....just like a set up of a washer/dryer I bought at Sears that were stored in a hot warehouse....the seals dried out and the washer leaked like a sieve and I'm looking at the date this POS was made and thought I was buying a brand new set...come to find out they weren't. Logic tends to enter into the equation when looking for answers.


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## OneStrangeOne (Sep 10, 2016)

All good advice, one thing that I have noticed is that using a punch will produce a much tighter draw than a guillotine does, I’ve also found that after making the punch cut if the draw is tighter than I want I can open it up by removing a layer or two of tobacco from inside the cut, I use a carpenters awe, icepick or draw tool. It’s also possible that you simply got a plugged cigar. A cracking sound is normal as long as the wrapper isn’t splitting, now if it sounds like rice crispy’s when you add milk that different!


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## Rads (Feb 10, 2019)

Maybe you just bought a bad batch of cigars? A sealed Tupper with Boveda packs should be close to fool proof as possible. Do you monitor the humidity at all? I use a bluetooth hygrometer in my humidor and check the humidity practically everyday. Even when I open it up I see the drop in humidity and than the rebound to 65%-66%.


Although this My Fathers Maduro I'm smoking right now is not doing too well. Not burning too well.......


Good luck....


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